Grand Emotions, Real Life

At the 33RD MUNICH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF FILM SCHOOLS
young directors from 18 countries are tackling reality and
heavy-duty emotions head on

The age-old themes of love, life and death are alive and
kicking. That's obvious in the program of this year's festival.
From November 17 to 23, young directors from around the world are
presenting their latest films.

"Tomorrow's top directors are concerned with grand emotions and
real life", commented Festival Director Diana
Iljine at the presentation of this year's program. 46 of
the best short films by students of the world's best film schools
will be in competition at the festival for prizes worth roughly
€50,000.

"It's exciting to see how these talented young filmmakers
approach these big themes from a new perspective", added Iljine.
"Some of the films are unconventional, some funny, some poignant
but never superficial. No 'I've seen that before.' "

The Canadian entry Noah deals with an evening
in the life life of a young man and takes place entirely on a
computer screen. His interaction via internet with his girlfriend,
his best friend and an attractive, mysterious stranger shows how
exciting and how difficult life in the era of facebook, skype, etc.
can be.

Run, from France, focuses on the difficulties
of love in day-to-day life. Dounia and her boyfriend Cédric don't
have much money. Whereas Dounia pays all the bills, he plays around
- until his passion for illegal car races puts their love to the
ultimate test.

Many films deal with tough social reality, though not entirely
without hope. Set in an English job centre (The Mass Of
Men), a Canadian small town
(Firecrackers), a poor Mexican neighborhood
(To Put Together A Helicopter) or a
(no-more)working class bar (Rough Grounds), the
protagonists, despite their desperate circumstances, often show
solidarity, resourcefulness and courageous behavior.

Even though the topics tend to be serious, these filmmakers are
not lacking in humor. There are satires of reality TV and casting
shows (The Pill Of Happiness and
Alfonso),very dark humor indeed is evident in
The Funeral of Harald Kramer, a comedy from
Austria which casts light on the funeral home business.

The 33RD MUNICH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF FILM SCHOOLS opens on
November 17 with a gala in the Munich University for Television and
Film. The competition begins on November 18 in the Munich
Filmmuseum.